Manually engaged engine starter



y 1943- J. w. FITZ GERALD 2,318,209

MANUALLY ENGAGED ENGINE STARTER Fil ed June 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J.w. Fl'i'z GERALD 2,318,209 MANUALLY ENGAGED ENGINE STARTER Filed June25, 1941 2 Sheet s-Sh'eet '2 5 Mb I Q3:

Patented May 4, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to engine starters, and refers particularly tostarters of the manually meshed type as distinguished from the automatictype wherein the inertia of the pinion or starter gear is utilized toefiect its engagement 7 with a ring gear of the engine flywheel.

It is an object of this invention to provide a starter of the manuallymeshed type which is considerably simpler than those heretofore in useand thus less expensive to produce. Inasmuch as the pinion teeth are aptto abut the teeth of the ring gear end to end, it is another object ofthis invention to provide a yielding connection betweenthe manuallydepressed starter lever and the pinion to compensate for suchinterference with proper meshing.

In this respect, it is a more specific object of this invention toprovide a simple manner of connecting the pinion with the manuallydepressible starter lever whereby much of the mechanism heretofore foundnecessary in starters of this type is obviated.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of thehereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view partially in side elevation and partially in sectionof a starter embodying this invention, said view showing the pinion inits normal retracted position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the pinion abuttingthe ring gear to illustrate erally by the numeral 1. This starter unitcomprises a pinion 8 loosely mounted on the shaft 6 to movelongitudinally and rotarily thereof and an overrunning clutch 9 throughwhich the pinion is drivingly connected with the motor shaft and bywhich damage to the motor armature due to excessive speed is obviated.

One element H] of the clutch is fixed to the pinion and the otherelement I I thereof is slidably splined on the motor shaft as at l2. Theclutch element In is substantially cup-shaped and has a disc-likeportion of the element l I received therein. This disc-like portion ofthe element H, as best shown in Figure 4, has a plurality of notches I3in its periphery in which balls or pins l 4 are received.

the manner in which such interference with The notches hav inclinedbottoms to provide a driving connection in one direction only. A' nutmember [5 threaded to the flange of the clutch element l0 holds the twoclutch elements assembled. p

The starter unit 9 is slid along the shaft 6' to mesh its pinion 8 witha ring gear I6 upon depression of a spring held starter pedal 11. Thepedal I! may be mounted in any suitable manner as by being pivoted onthe housing of the motor as at I8, and any form of spring action may beused to hold it in its retracted position.

- Besides moving the pinion into and out of mesh with the ring gear,depression of the starter pedal also controls the connection of thestarting motor with its source of energy and for this purpose a switchmay be built into the motor housing and. provided with a depressibleactuator 19 adapted to be engaged by the starter pedal during its finalrange of depression.

- The connection betweenthe pedal I1 and the starter unit comprises a,rod 20 slidable within the hollow drive shaft and protruding from theouter end thereof. This protruding end of the rod has a stop abutment 2|fixed thereto which bears against the adjacent end of a compressionspring 22, the opposite end of which is supported by the hub of theclutch element ll.

Expansion of the spring 22 is limited by a barrel or shell 23 fittedover the spring and secured to the clutch element l I with its outer endfianged to engage the stop abutment 2|.

A motion transmitting connection yieldable in one direction is thusprovided between the rod 20 and the starter unit so that a pull on therod,

transmitted thereto by depression of the pedal,

advances the pinion toward the ring gear.

In the event of improper meshing, as indicated in Figure 2, thecompression spring 22 yields to permit continued depression of thestarter pedal to close the motor switch. The instant the switch isclosed and the motor starts, the rotation imparted to the piniondislodges the abutting relationship and enables thespring tosnap thepinion into proper engagementwith the ring gear.

The connection between the starter pedal and the rod comprises a yokeand spanner collar, as indicated at 24, and as will be readily apparent,after the engine has been started and the starter pedal is released, itsreturn to normal retracted position by its biasing spring returns thestarter unit to its normal position shown in Figure 1.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides anexceedingly simple engine starter of the manually meshed type and thatthrough the, simple expedient of an actuating rod slidable within thehollow drive shaft much of the mechanism heretofore necessary forshifting the starter unit into and out of mesh with the ring gear iseliminated.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an engine starter of the character described: a hollow driveshaft; a pinion loosely mounted thereon; an overrunning clutchcomprising complementary members, one of which is connected to thepinion; a splined driving connection between the shaft and the otherclutch element; a rod slidable within the hollow drive shaft andprotruding from the end thereof adjacent to the clutch and pinion; anabutment on the exposed end portion of the rod; a compression springconfined between said abutment and the adjacent end of the seconddesignated clutch element so that a pull on the rod yieldingly imparts apush on the assembled clutch and pinion to move the pinion toward itsoperative driving position with a yielding force to compensate forinterruptions with the advance of the pinion; and a shell carried bysaid second designated clutch element and enclosing the protruding endof the rod and said spring and engageable with the abutment on the rodto limit expansion of the spring and enable the application of endwiseforce on the clutch and pinion in the opposite direction by a push onsaid rod.

2. In an engine starter of the character described: a drive motor havinga hollow armature shaft; a starter gear movable along the shaft to andfrom an operative driving position; a driving connection between thestarter gear and the shaft; a rod slidable within the hollow armatureshaft; a manually operableactuator connected with the rod to reciprocatethe same and biased to a position urging the rod in one axial direction;

a connection between the rod and the starter gear through which the rodtransmits a positive axial force to the starting gear to hold the samein an inoperative position on the shaft in response to the biasing forceacting on the actuator; and another connection between the rod and thestarter gear including a yieldable element through which the rodtransmits a yielding axial force on the starter gear in a direction toadvance the same to its operative position in response to operation ofthe actuator against its biasing force.

3. In an engine starter of the character described: a drive motor havinga hollow armature shaft; a starter gear movable along the shaft to andfrom an operative driving position; a driving connection between thestarter gear and the shaft; a rod slidable within the hollow armatureshaft; biasing means acting on the rod to yieldingly hold the same inone axial position; a connection between the rod and the starter gearthrough which the rod transmits a positive axial force to the startergear to hold the same in an inoperative position on the shaft inresponse to the biasing force acting on the rod; and another connectionbetween the rod and the starter gear including a yieldable elementthrough which the rod transmits a yielding axial force on the startergear in a direction to advance the same to its operative position inresponse to sliding of the rod against its biasing force to anotheraxial position.

4. In an engine starter of the character described, the combination of ahollow drive shaft; a starter gear movable both longitudinally androtatarily with respect to the shaft; an overrunning clutch one elementof which is connected to the starter gear; a splined driving connectionbetween the other element of the overrunning clutch and the shaft; a rodslidable within the hollow drive shaft and projecting from one endthereof; and a connection between the rod and the second designatedelement of the overrunning clutch for shifting the starter gearlongitudinally on the shaft including an abutment on the rod, a springconfined between said abutment and the second, designated element of theoverrunning clutch so that a pull on the rod yieldingly imparts anendwise force on the overrunning clutch and starter gear to move thegear to an operative position, and means connected with the pinion forlimiting the expansion of said spring to thereby enable the applicationof endwise force on the starter gear to move the same to an inoperativeposition upon motion of the rod in the opposite direction.

JOHN W. FITZ GERALD.

